Bengaluru's first computer

Sitting in a glass room on the first floor of the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum is an IBM 1401 computer – a cluster of machines consisting of a large central processing unit attached to input and output devices. These include card-punching and card-reading machines, tape drives and a printer. The museum has displayed it since 1989, by which time this second-generation, transistor-based machine had already become obsolete. Panels accompanying the exhibit explain the role of each component in processing data and producing output, making it both eye-catching and educative. One panel notes that the machine was used at the Karnataka Government computer centre and was donated to the museum in 1989.

This computer is of historical significance. Purchased by the state government in 1971, it was intended to computerise treasury accounts. Receipt and expenditure transactions from district treasuries were copied into coding sheets and transported to a data centre in Bengaluru. There, a large team of data-entry operators punched each transaction into cards. Another team verified the accuracy of these cards using verification machines. The data was then read by card-reading machines and transferred onto large magnetic tapes, which were sent to the computer room. Computer programs and data were fed into the IBM 1401, which analysed the transactions as per the program and generated summaries required for accounting purposes. 

The state government soon recognised that the computer had potential uses in other departments and public undertakings. A special officer to help such organisations identify areas where the computer could help them deliver services faster and more efficiently to citizens. Once a suitable use was identified, staff with the aptitude for such work were selected and sent for training. Initially, departments used the computer centre and later acquired their own systems.

As a young man of 25 years, I had the privilege of working
as that Special Officer during 1971-1972, before being transferred to another state. After 54 years, I was elated to see the computer again the other day, displayed with dignity in the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum.

The purchase of the computer in 1971 was a visionary step by the state government. However, it took considerable time for the objectives to be realised, largely because the technology of the 1970s was inadequate for the purposes envisaged by the state government. In subsequent decades, computers became faster and more convenient to use. Advances in communication technology made it possible to transmit data instantaneously over long distances, and the advent of the Internet marked a decisive turning point. The state government departments and undertakings upgraded their systems. After nearly 18 years of service, the first computer was finally retired and donated to the museum for educational purposes.

The arrival of computers created new jobs such as data entry operators, programmers and system analysts. Young people in Bengaluru showed an acumen for learning these skills, leading to the establishment of colleges and training institutions. Supportive government policies, technology parks and a favourable investment climate attracted both Indian and foreign companies to the city. This in turn further increased the demand and encouraged the establishment of more colleges and training institutions. All this resulted in a phenomenal expansion in the availability of trained manpower. It is now estimated that Bengaluru has over two million computer professionals. The city is now recognised as one of the largest software centres in the world. These new jobs have brought prosperity to Bangalore. Karnataka is now counted among the states in India with the highest per capita income. Bengaluru, which was known as a pensioner’s paradise in the last century, is now known as the Silicon City.

The government computer was truly the harbinger of the computer revolution that Bengaluru witnessed in the decades that followed. The computer, which is now housed in the Visvesvaraya Museum, was an educational exhibit in 1989. More than 36 years have passed since then. It is time to treat it as a historical exhibit, as the computer is from the time the transformation of Bengaluru began.

San Jose, in the US’ Silicon Valley, has a museum devoted to the history of the computer industry. It would be fitting for Bengaluru to establish a similar museum to honour and celebrate the milestones that shaped its transformation into the Silicon City of India.

(The writer is a retired IAS officer, Tamil Nadu cadre)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.